Sounds of the Future
by LilSweetMocha
Summary: Vocaloids have been at the top for years, but not anymore. Most have either discarded the Diva title or have been "shut down", but there may be hope of spreading the Vocaloid name back into the music world. A project is being conducted to see this through, but will they succeed in getting back the fame their predecessors had lost? No longer accepting.
1. What is a Miracle?

Key

_In italics_= English

_**A/N: Sorry for any mistakes I made.**_

* * *

Prologue: _What is a Miracle?_

* * *

"Hideyoshi-san, maybe it's time for you to take a break. You've been working nonstop."

"Yeah. Project D is in its final stages, so I think we can afford a little break now-"

"If we're in the final stages, why should I stop now?" Hideyoshi asked, his stern glare moving from his computer screen to the small team gathered behind him. The most noticable member was a young man off to the side, still in high school and hesitant to get close to the group but still looked as concerned as his co-workers.

One of them, Hanada Daichi, spoke up again. He was the first to address Hideyoshi Naoya, and had bags under his eyes like everyone else (Hideyoshi included). "Hideyoshi-san, we want to see the project come into fruition as much as you do-, but we can't afford having everyone burn out. Moke-kun almost passed out this morning. He's young, he needs his rest."

Hideyoshi glanced at the distant young man, who averted his gaze quickly. "...Fine. We'll take a break."

Hideyoshi sighed as his team cheered.

* * *

Moke observed the tall man currently examining the two lifeless bodies resting on separate tables. Both were the fruit of Project D's Japanese counterparts, and were being monitored by Hanada with a USB chord connecting them from the back of their necks to his and Akiyama's computers. The foreigner made Hideyoshi seem like a kid in comparison, and the Japanese man was actually the tallest in the team. But at least he was more well kept. The foreigner had rather short brown hair that seemed to lack a week's combing, and he looked like he hadn't shaved in quite a while.

"They're memory are still intact..." The youngest member heard Hanada mumble from the side. He was speaking of the memories the team had implanted in the Vocaloids, of course. Nothing more than simple knowledge like how to speak, walk, certain vocabulary and who to immediately trust on sight. They didn't want their own creations to be afraid of them or, in rare cases, attack them. But the last time a Vocaloid had attacked their creators out of fear was after the creation of Gakupo Kamui. The whole group wasn't blamed except for one man who forgot to insert that one detail into Gakupo's memory file and they had to shut him off (without being stabbed by his sword) so they could reprogram him.

"No viruses." A woman informed them. Seated besides Hanada was Akiyama Junko. Her long black hair was currently tied in a simple bun instead of it falling to her mid-back as usual. She, along with Hideyoshi, was put in charge of handling the new Vocaloids upon activation. Her generally sweet, motherly personality would be useful during any stressful testing for the androids. Even Moke couldn't help but feel relaxed around her.

The foreigner nodded and grinned towards the more stoic Naoya. "I'm guessing you already have their voices ready, Hideyoshi?"

"Of course, Lebrant-san. Can I say the same for you?" Hideyoshi asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Lebrant chuckled nervously and scratched his fingers through his hair. "Well, we've been having some trouble finding a voice provider. We really want something unique, but ever since the Vocaloid popularity dropped, it's been a heavy challenge. _Especially on my wallet..._"

"I see..."

"Don't worry though!" Lebrant suddenly perked up and his playful grin was back. "We'll find someone, and we won't disappoint! But I should probably call Elizabeth and make sure no one's slackin' of-"

"Hideyoshi-san!"

Everyone turned to Hanada, who still had his eyes glued to the screen. From behind, no one would be able to see the huge smile plastered on his face.

"They're ready to wake up!"

* * *

_**A/N: Okay guys. Here's the rules. The app for your OCs is below, BUT you have to send them via PM, NOT in reviews. All apps sent through review will be IGNORED. Okay? ^^ I'm going to be looking through apps and picking out whos OC is going to be included, so good luck getting in! I'll only accept a handful. Oh, and the deadline to send OCs is 11/17/12. And it's recommended to put as much detail as you can into your apps. *IMPORTANT EDIT* Also, I want to blanace the amount of Japanese and Non-Japanese Vocaloids, since it's kind of important for this fic (I've been getting a lot of Japanese OCs =w=;, hehe...) and hopefully, I can balance the genders too. (A lot of female ones being sent as well)**_

_**Here's the app.**_

_**Name:**_

_**Nickname (optional):**_

_**Age:**_

_**Gender:**_

_**Physical appearance:**_

_**Clothing:**_

_**Personality:**_

_**Likes:**_

_**Dislikes:**_

_**Language(s): (If two languages are used, please tell me which is the primary and which is secondary. Yes, it's important.)**_

_**Character item:**_

* * *

_**My own OCs.**_

_**Name: Niseyo Keita (Western order: Keita Niseyo)**_

_**Nickname (optional): PC or Teddy**_

_**Age: 17**_

_**Gender: Male**_

_**Physical appearance: Short black hair a bit on the messy side. Blue-violet eyes that are similar to SeeU's in one way: the shine in his eyes are shaped like the icon on a power button instead of stars. He has a healthy peach color to his skin. Stands at 5'9.**_

_**Clothing: Black pair of headphones with the power icon on both sides, and they're usually rested where they should be around his head. He wears a short sleeved, blue hoodie with two "ears" on the hood that are short in round to look like bear ears, and a long sleeved black shirt is worn underneath. He also wears blue shorts that stop at his knees with black pants covering the rest of his legs and usually wears a pair of black sandals.**_

_**Personality: Keita is rather carefree and childish to the point that he's rather underestimated when it comes to intelligence., but his IQ is very high, and his mind sometimes works similar to a computer. However, he's also addicted to gaming and the internet, and spends hours awake at his laptop or game systems, so he's usually very lethargic without a "pick-me-up". Because of his behavior, one would think he cares little about singing, or even bringing the Vocaloid name back into the world.**_

_**Likes: Sweets, hot chocolate, surfing the internet, and gaming (puzzles and RPGs mostly).**_

_**Dislikes: Dark chocolate, being called an idiot, people who think they know everything, having his games or laptop taken away, and lemons.**_

_**Language(s): Japanese**_

_**Character item: PSP or tiramisu***_

***Tiramisu is an Italian dessert that actually translates (if I'm correct) to "pick-me-up", which most likely refers to the use of cocoa, caffeine (coffee), and sugar in the dessert (I think they also use liquor). I thought it would be perfect for Keita since he doesn't get much sleep.**

_**Name: Tachibana Yuri (Western order: Yuri Tachibana)**_

_**Nickname (optional):**_

_**Age: 16**_

_**Gender: Female**_

_**Physical appearance: Orange-brown hair that falls to her neck and curls at the ends ever so slightly. Her bangs are swept to the left and held by a blue flower hairpin. Her skin is a bit paler than Keita's, but not sickly. Both eyes are a chocolate brown. She is around 5'3 and has a petite body.**_

_**Clothing: She wears a short, cream colored strap dress with brown leggings underneath with matching flat shoes. Covering her arms and upper body is a short, long sleeved yellow sweater jacket with three brown buttons on the right side. A brown scarf is wrapped around her neck.**_

_**Personality: Yuri is more wild than Keita, and is quite rebellious despite her innocent appearance. She has a problem with authority-a trait that became obvious after activation. it is hard to calm her down once she's riled up, but warm temperatures do the trick. Heat makes her pretty drowsy.**_

_**Likes: Hot springs, autumn leaves, her scarf, and dark chocolate.**_

_**Dislikes: Sweets, complicated topics/things she can't understand, and not having her way.**_

_**Language(s): Japanese (Primary); English (Secondary- Needs more working on)**_

_**Character item: Lemon candy.**_


	2. Ready? Set? GO!

_**A/N: I finally got this done! OAO**_

_**Thank you everyone who submitted their OCs and made it in! Them being:**_

_**Kuroi Kusanagi (BladeOfTheEclipse)**_

_**Avaron Aine (Catatonic Inspiration)**_

_**Luna Lalonde (Electromoon)**_

_**Sorami Haruki (Voca'Neko)**_

_**Inori Ayase (Illusionist Dream)**_

_**Rei Hawthrone (LunaLapis)**_

_**Thank you! ^w^**_

* * *

Perhaps she heard wrong due to the heavy pounding of rain against her umbrella, but for a moment, Meiko could've sworn she heard the blue haired young lady before her just tell her the dreaded, yet anticipated, news that the past idol had expected.

She expected it, but she still couldn't believe it.

"They made more? You're joking, right Ring?"

"No way would we joke about this! We got a message from Akiko yesterday!" Ring exclaimed, her excitement becoming more obvious with each word. The blonde boy beside her, Lui, had a similar smiled stretched along his lips, but he said nothing. Instead, he dug through his pocket and fished out his cellphone. It was simple red flip phone with a banana keychain and an orange keychain. An "L" was written on the banana, while an "R" was written on the orange.

Meiko held the phone and took a moment to stare at the keychains with a heavy heart before flipping the phone open and searching through Lui's text messages. One immediately caught her eye.

_From: Akiko-nee_

_Subject: The children are awake!_

* * *

_Chapter 1: Ready? Set? GO!_

* * *

Yuri remained silent as she glared at Kuroi, who was currently sitting on the couch and paying more attention to a book than her, his expression calm and relaxed. The man was obviously older than the other two occupants of the average sized living room, and had long, unkempt black hair with his bangs on either sides of his face, the right side being completely covered. He had dark blue eyes and fair skin, and his slim body was covered by a long, black coat with a red Ouroboro on the back.

Yuri glare didn't light up, and Kuroi kept his gaze away from hers. Keita would spare a glance at them from his game for a second, before looking down at his PSP screen again. After another few minutes of silence, he decided to finally speak. "It's rude to stare Yu-chan."

"Yu-chan" huffed and stomped over to Keita. The boy raised a brow before jumping up when his game was snatched from his hands. "Hey! Give that back!"

"No! You called me Yu-chan, so you can say goodbye to your stupid game!" Yuri yelled, holding Keita's PSP away with one hand and pushing Keita away with the other. The boy tried again and again to force his way to his PSP before giving up, sitting back down in the armchair to sulk.

Yuri rolled her eyes. "You're too obsessed with this stuff you know-" She froze when she drops fall onto the wooden floor. Drops that were definitely tears. "Keita, come on. You're seventeen..."

Keita didn't respond. Instead, he kept his head down and his body was trembling. Yuri could even hear a few sniffles that made her heart (if she had one) sink to the very bottom. "K-Kuma-kun, sto- HEY!"

"Here." Keita looked up with teary eyes to see Kuroi holding out his PSP to the obsessive gamer. "Kuma" immediately grabbed and smiled widely, suddenly cheerful and happy as ever. "Yay! Thanks Kuroi-nii!" He then started playing again as if nothing happened.

Kuroi nodded and went into the dining room, already knowing what was about to happen next.

"You...You DUMBASS!"

* * *

"Hello everyone! How- Why is Keita crying in a corner?"

Akikoloid watched in concern as Keita was sobbing, trying to put his PSP back together by putting the halves together like a clueless child. Yuri was sitting in the armchair, leaned back and eating lemon candy as if she did nothing.

"The idiot tripped and broke his game."

"Uh-huh..." Akikoloid knew better than to believe that, but decided that this was matter that could be dealt with later. Instead, she looked around, noticing that the group was a member short. "And where's Kusanagi-kun?"

Yuri giggled. "Went upstairs as soon as he heard door open. Fast, isn't he?"

"M-My P-PSP...m-my..." Keita sobbed from the corner. Akiko sighed and went over to crouch beside him. "It's okay, Teddy. We'll try to get you a new one. Better yet, Yuri will pay for it!"

"WHAT!?"

"You broke it, you pay for it." When Yuri was about to say something, Akiko cut her off. "And don't say it wasn't you. I doubt Keita would be that clumsy with his games."

Akiko grinned in triumph when Yuri slumped in the chair, cursing her and Keita from under her breath. The older Vocaloid grabbed Keita's hand and helped him to his feet. "Now, since this is settled, Hideyoshi-san said he had someone for you to meet." She then patted Keita's hand and smiled sweetly. "Keita, can you get Kusanagi-kun for me?"

* * *

Kuroi kept close to the group as various people passed by. Some were high schoolers just getting out of school, some of them were mothers either shopping for themselves, their kids, or trying to keep their young children in sight, while the rest were unimportant faces in a crowd. Kuroi would catch the occasional punk sending him a dirty look, but he didn't flinch even once.

Hideyoshi was at the front, clearing the way for the rest of the new Vocaloids. Yuri and Keita were completely amazed by the city, never actually leaving the large home bought for them. Hideyoshi had made sure to keep them inside until they were "ready" for the outside world, but his long distance associate, Lebrant (Hideyoshi didn't know his first name), was more relaxed towards his own Vocaloids. They had already had their time to explore after their activation, but Hideyoshi could understand why. They were more relaxed and well behaved compared to his "kids", and Lebrant had full trust in them. Now, it wasn't that Hideyoshi didn't trust his creations, it was just that he didn't want to come home to Keita crying because Yuri got arrested for assaulting some passerby just for looking at her wrong.

For a brief moment, Hideyoshi considered reprogramming the "wild orange".

"Naoya?"

Hideyoshi stopped in front of fountain, wondering how he managed to get himself to the park with his mind busy. That's when he noticed that Keita was holding his left hand while Yuri was holding on to his right. Said teenager snatched her hand away and crossed her arms with a hint of a red blush to her cheeks. "Pay attention next time, idiot."

Ring giggled from her spot on the fountain's stone edge while Lui shook his head. Meiko, however, was staring at the new additions to the "family", barely believing her own eyes. _'Akiko was telling the truth.'_

Akikoloid smiled slightlt at her friend and turned towards the newcomers. "Everyone, I would like you to meet some of my old friends."

Keita (his hand still connected to Hideyoshi's) stared wide eyed at the three Vocaloid before him. "So, you're our seniors?"

Ring nodded. "That's right! My name is Suzune Ring, and this is my counterpart, Hibiki Lui. He...lost his voice a while back."

Lui held up his cellphone, a message typed onto the screen. _"Nice to meet you." _

Keita nodded sadly. "Yeah. Nice to meet you too."

Unable to stand the atmosphere, Yuri introduced herself as cheerfully as possible. "The name's Tachibana Yuri! Remember it! And that crybaby," She pounted towards Keita. "Is Niseyo Keita."

_"Who is that guy?"_ Lui typed onto his phone, pointing towards Kuroi who had grown a bit distant from the group. "Oh, that's Kuroi-kun. He's shy around girls." Keita answered. He shivered when he felt a cold glare directed to him from behind.

Hideyoshi had his eyes trained at the oldest Vocaloid the hold time. He pushed up his glasses. "Meiko, you've been oddly silent."

Meiko blinked once before shaking her head. "Sorry. I still can't believe you went out of your way to make new ones..." Hideyoshi knew what she meant, and gave her the ghost of a smile. "Well, of course. Sometimes you need something new to appreciate the old. Now," He freed his left hand from Keita's right and crossed his arms. "I think you know why I truly wanted to meet you."

Kuroi narrowed his dark blue eyes at the human, wondering what he had planned.

...

. . . .

...

Meiko's eyes widened. "You want them to go on the Dear Stage?!"

"That's right."

"Naoya-kun, you must be kidding! The only Vocaloids that managed to get on the Dear Stage was Miku-nee and the Kagamine twins!" Ring reminded him, Lui nodding along.

_"Isn't their some sort of Diva Competition going on in seven months?" _Lui typed on his phone. Hideyoshi nodded.

Keita and Yuri shared glances, completely lost in the conversation. Both of them then turned to Akikoloid for answers and asked in unison, "What's the Dear Stage?"

Akikoloid blinked, then smiled widely. "The Dear Stage is, of course, a stage located in Akihabara. But it's more than that. Imagine a stadium that could hold almost everyone in this city. _That's _the Dear Stage. It's a Diva's dream to perform there, and they even hold a competition there every few years ever since it was constructed. It's not exactly old, but it has built quite a reputation in only a few years!," She then sighed dreamily, remembering the inside of the complexed stage from her time there years ago as guest announcer along with Gumi. "It's truly a sight~!"

"Wow, really?! And we're going to perform there?!" Yuri and Keita then grabbed each others' hands and started spinning each other around like two excited children about to go on a huge trip. Akikoloid was lost in her memories, quickly joining Keita and Yuri. Hideyoshi, of course, had to cut through their excitement like a knife. "That's if you work hard and practice everyday. We can't have you put on a horrible show in front of everyone in Japan. And Kuroi,"

Kuroi hadn't left his gaze from Hideyoshi, already knowing what he was going to say next. Hideyoshi could tell that Kuroi knew the man's expectations as well, and nodded. "Good. You understand. So, I don't want any slackers. So Keita, we are going to cut your computer and gaming activity from now on."

Keita's spirits immediately dropped into a dark, endless abyss. "WH-WHAT? BUT PAPA-"

"No complaints."

Ring and Lui, however, were trying to hold back their laughter along with Meiko. "P-Papa?" Ring choked out, while Lui almost fell into the fountain.

* * *

_**A/N: Alright, guys! The deadline passed, but there's still an extension for TWO MORE MALE OC's. Of course, the rules still apply. Any apps sent to review get ignored, and it's recommened to put as much detail into your apps. The deadline for this is 11/24/12. Good luck! d(OwO)b**_

_**Anyway, I hope you like the first chapter! Also, if you're confused by the timeline here- No, it's not in Tone Rion's time, but it is in some time in the future.**_


	3. Baby Steps

"Akikoloid, where are the other Vocaloid?"

The older Vocaloid couldn't pull her eyes away from the television screen, even when Hideyoshi sat right next to her after not hearing a response after a while. Hideyoshi leaned over and picked up the remote from the table, and switched the TV off.

Akikoloid immediately tried to snatch the remote away from the man, but Hideyoshi held the remote in the air. The Vocaloid finally gave up, crossing her arms and pouting childishly. "You're so mean, Naoya! Just when Sachiko was about to confess to-"

"I don't care." Hideyoshi quickly interrupted her. "Where are my Vocaloids?"

Akiko blinked, then looked at Hideyoshi with confusion. "Keita told me you gave them permission to go out."

"..."

* * *

_Chapter Two: Baby Steps_

* * *

"Okay, repeat after me: _I am a pen._"

Keita blinked, but then nodded. He was about to speak before Yuri slapped a hand to his mouth. "Don't repeat that, stupid! Look here," She glared the young man across from her. "_The onry one who gets to mess with him is ME."_

The man chuckled. _"Ah, so you can speak English too? Your accent is a bit on the heavy side though."_

_"It's good enough!"_

Keita blinked, his eyes darting back and forth from Yuri, to their new associate, and back to Yuri. He could almost feel his artificial brain break from trying to understand what the they were saying. He did not understand English, neither was he made to sing it. "Y-Yuri, my head hurts..."

Kuroi, however, wasn't bothered by it at all. _"You're torturing Niseyo."_

"Kuroi, you traitor!" Keita whimpered and his face met the table of the small cafe they were currently sitting in. Kuroi shrugged slightly, not exactly caring and went back to reading his book while trying to stay away from Keita, who was violating his personal space while whining and still accusing Kuroi of being a "traitor".

_"I'm just saying your English is rusty."_

_"It's not!" _Yuri's hands balled into fist as she glared daggers at the man, who's grin had fallen into a poker face as the two stared each other down. He wore black leather pants with black belt boots. The belts on the boots are silver colored, like the belt around his waist. On his upper body he wore a white shirt with a dark green tie. A missing article of his outfit was the usual black jacket, which lay folded on his lap. He had black hair like Keita, and bright green eyes.

Who was this guy anyway? At one moment, Keita and Yuri had convinced (forced) Kuroi into the cafe with them, expecting some free time away Hideyoshi and their practice sessions, then this arrogant ass comes in and suddenly makes himself comfortable at their table. He wouldn't speak for a moment, until Keita, the idiot, had greeted the man with a simple "Hello" and even offered him his tiramisu. After that, the two had somehow started a conversation about some game Yuri didn't give a damn about, up to now. The stranger had refused, it seemed, to speak to Yuri and Kuroi. Now, he had no choice. Rei had tried to ignore Yuri a few times and tried getting Keita's attention back to finish their previous conversation, but Yuri was persistant. She would even block his line of sight if his eyes even dared to fall on Keita.

"Who are you anyway?!" Yuri snapped, slipping back into Japanese. The stranger sighed. _"My name is Rei Hawthrone. _Are you always this rude?"

"RUDE? YOU'RE THE ONE-"

"Excuse me."

Everyone (except Kuroi) averted their eyes to the waitress standing before them, a displeased look on her face. "Can you please quiet down over here? You're disturbing the other customers."

Rei nodded, averting his gaze. Keita noticed his sudden shyness. "We're sorry! My friends were just a little riled up!" The waitress hummed softly before leaving to take another table's order. Keita watched her walk away while stuffing more tiramisu into his mouth. "She was cute."

"Get bent." Yuri growled and punched Keita in the arm. Keita whimpered a little, rubbing the sore spot.

On the other side, Rei had grown quiet. Keita was about to ask what was wrong until the black haired teen stood up, grabbed his jacket, and walked out, leaving Keita confused and Yuri smirking.

* * *

"Having a hard time making friends?"

Rei didn't bother turning around, already familiar to that deep, playful voice that belonged to none other than Lebrant. The older man stopped beside Rei, hands in his pockets and a wide grin on his face as usual. He scratched at the scruff on his chin as he stared at the same poster Rei was so fixated on.

It was a poster advertising for the approaching Diva competition in the Dear Stage. A young blonde girl was on the poster, standing before the Dear Stage with its lights flashing and a crowd behind her. She seemed familiar. What was her name? Kusagiri? Kusanagi? Kusa...Kisa...Kisaragi? Yeah, that had to be it.

Lebrant sighed when he failed to get a response from the English Vocaloid. He scratched the back of his head as he chuckled nervously. "You don't want to talk, I get it, but you're going to have to work on that shyness of yours if you want to perform _there_. There's gonna be a lot of stress."

"Baby steps, right?" Rei mumbled. Lebrant nodded. "Yeah, baby steps."

"Rei-kun!"

Both males turned around to see Keita dragging Yuri along towards them. Said girl was literally kicking and screaming, but Keita endured each hit as he ran up to them. Kuroi was calmly following behind them, sure to keep his distance so he wasn't hit by Yuri as well.

Lebrant recognised the two immediately. "Ah, Yuri! Keita! How are you?"

Keita smiled brightly at him, and stopped infront of Lebrant with his female opposite still trying to get free from his surprisingly strong grip. "Rebrant-san! It's nice to see you again!" Keita then leaned to the side a bit to catch a glimpse of Rei. "Do you know him?"

Rei nodded. "He's one of my creators..."

This made Yuri pause as she stared at Rei in disbelief. "Don't tell me. You're-"

"A Vocaloid, yes." Rei finished for her. Yuri's arms fell limp beside her as she realised that now, she may actually have to make _contact _with this idiot now. While she was inwardly sulking, Keita walked around Lebrant to pat Rei on the back. "Welcome to the family!"

Rei blinked. _'Family...?' _Smiling ever so slightly, he nodded. "Thanks."

"Hm. Maybe next time I should bring Inori with me." Lebrant smiled as he watched Keita lead Rei to Yuri and Kuroi in mild amusement. "Maybe another girl around will help the "wild orange" calm down." He mused as he rejoined the group now leaving him behind. They didn't go far though, as both Yuri and Keita were suddenly snatched to the side by their jackets. Lebrant chuckled nervously as the familiar, extremely irritated form of Hideyoshi stared them all down.

"Let's have a talk..."

* * *

"Damn it, I'm so bored..."

"I can't even touch a computer anymore..."

Akikoloid sighed as she watched Keita and Yuri lying on the couch on their backs, their upper bodies leaning back so everything was upside down in their eyes. Keita looked close to crying while Yuri was pouting.

Their two new guests were in the dining room, observing the two. Lebrant laughed as Hideyoshi called for them from another room, and the two immediately bolted. "So, Rei, you think you can work with them?"

"I guess," The Vocaloid let a smile slip. "It won't be so bad."

* * *

_**A/N: I'm sorry this was so short! ;w; The next chapter will be longer!**_


End file.
